Coach Kevin Willard offered praise for his bench after Maryland men’s basketball’s 76-68 win over Wisconsin Jan. 29 — though the reason was unexpected.
Willard didn’t directly compliment any one player or performance. Instead, he said the reserve group gave his starters a chance to “settle in a little bit and kind of catch their breath.”
That’s been a regular task for Maryland’s backups this season. The unit consists of three main players during Big Ten play and isn’t asked to score a bevy of points. Rather, Willard wants them to play tough defense, provide a spark and let the starters recalibrate.
“I feel like when we come in, we just give our team a different sort of energy on defense,” sophomore guard DeShawn Harris-Smith said. “Just straight energy plays should be our mindset. Get a loose ball, get a steal, get a block, something like that. That’s what’s going to keep us in the game.”
Harris-Smith, junior forward Tafara Gapare and graduate guard Jay Young form the Terps’ bench trio and often check into games together. According to CBB Analytics, the team’s net rating when all three are on the court in conference play is +24.4 — a mark in the 98th percentile.
But Maryland’s bench is scoring 8.8 points per game in conference play this season, the lowest Big Ten average by more than four points. Gapare averages the most points on the bench with 4.7 while no other reserve scores more than four per game.
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The bench’s lack of scoring has been particularly noticeable in the past three games, where it tallied just 10 combined points.
Willard’s starters have offset the bench by averaging an explosive 68.8 points, the highest mark in the Big Ten since at least the 2002-03 season, according to RealGM. Each Maryland starter is averaging double-digit points, with freshman big man Derik Queen leading at 15.
Compared to Big Ten regular season champions in the past 10 seasons, Maryland’s starting unit has scored the most points per game so far. But its bench production is third to last.
Despite its lack of scoring, the value of Maryland’s bench is still evident, especially in practice. Harris-Smith said the “red team” — the reserve unit — prides itself on making life difficult for the starters. The players try to make practice hectic and play harder to have a more competitive edge, he said.
Willard doesn’t tell his reserves to hunt their own shot in games, Harris-Smith said. But he also doesn’t want them to turn down open looks.
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“He actually takes me out the game if I don't take an open shot or I'm not being as aggressive as he wants,” Harris-Smith said. “All the coaches just tell me to go out there and just be DeShawn. Like, just go out there and be a dog.”
Willard pulled Harris-Smith after he passed up an open 3-pointer in the first half against Wisconsin. He told the sophomore that he can’t play him if he doesn’t shoot the ball.
Harris-Smith didn’t pass up his next chance to shoot. He drilled his first 3-pointer in nearly a month to spark an 11-0 run that invigorated the Terps’ win.
Maryland got 70 points from its starting group and six from its bench in that game — that’s not far off from their averages. A look at similar offenses offers a potential blueprint for the Terps.
Wisconsin shared the Big Ten regular season title in 2022 and was the sole winner in 2015, with the conference’s worst bench in both seasons.
Recent history shows it’s possible to succeed with a subpar bench, especially when the starting five is one of the best in the country. Maryland’s reserves understand the roles they need to play to succeed.
“Obviously, coming off the bench you're not going to get as many minutes. So me, Jay and [Gapare], every time we get in the game we remind each other, ‘Go out there, empty the tanks,’’ Harris-Smith said. “[We’re] not worried about scoring or if we mess up. Just go out there and literally play as hard as we can.”
